Recovery Colleges Characterisation and Testing Programme: Work Package 1, Transcripts and Survey Data, 2021-2022

Ronaldson, Amy (2025). Recovery Colleges Characterisation and Testing Programme: Work Package 1, Transcripts and Survey Data, 2021-2022. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-857525

The aim of RECOLLECT 2 is to develop the evidence base for Recovery Colleges in England and understand how they can provide the most benefit to people who use mental health services. Findings will help refine the previously developed RECOLLECT change model. This aim will be addressed through several studies (work packages). In this collection we describe and include data from Work Package 1 of the RECOLLECT 2 project. Work package 1 comprises both quantitative and qualitative studies:

1. A written survey of Recovery Colleges in England about how they are organised and funded
2. A written survey of Recovery Colleges from 28 countries (excluding England) about how they are organised and funded
3. Interviews with recovery college managers to explore how the College is organised and how they think this might influence its effectiveness

Data description (abstract)

Recovery Colleges are a relatively recent initiative within mental health services. The first opened in 2009 in London and since then numbers have grown both in England and globally. They are based on principles of personal recovery in mental health, co-production between people with lived experience of mental health problems and professionals, and adult learning. Student eligibility criteria vary, but all serve people who use mental health services, with empirical evidence of benefit. Previously we developed a Recovery College fidelity measure and a preliminary change model identifying the mechanisms of action and outcomes for this group, which we refer to as service user students. The Recovery Colleges Characterisation and Testing (RECOLLECT) 2 study is a five-year (2020–2025) programme of research in England. The aim of RECOLLECT 2 is to determine Recovery Colleges’ effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and identify organisational influences on fidelity and improvements in mental health outcomes.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Ronaldson Amy	King's College London	https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8369-9168

Sponsors:

National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR200605)

Grant reference:

NIHR200605

Topic classification:

Health
Psychology

Keywords:

MENTAL DISORDERS, MENTAL HEALTH, MENTALLY ILL, PSYCHIATRY, PSYCHOLOGY, ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES, EDUCATIONAL PROVISION, CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, HEALTH CARE FACILITIES, HEALTH CARE COSTS

Project title:

Work Package 1 of the Recovery Colleges Characterisation and Testing (RECOLLECT) 2

Alternative title:

RECOLLECT

Grant holders:

Professor Claire Henderson, Professor Mike Slade

Project dates:

From	To
1 December 2020	30 November 2025

Date published:

17 Mar 2025 16:09

Last modified:

17 Mar 2025 16:10

Coverage and Methodology

Temporal coverage:

From	To
1 August 2021	14 October 2022

Collection period:

Date from:	Date to:
1 August 2021	14 October 2022

Country:

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Uganda, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany (October 1990-), Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada

Data collection method:

For all RECOLLECT 2 studies the inclusion criteria for Recovery Colleges are:

- A focus on supporting personal recovery in mental health or substance use;
- An aspiration to use co-production, defined as individuals with lived experience working with staff or subject experts to design and deliver all aspects of the Recovery College;
- An aspiration to use adult learning approaches, in which students and trainers collaborate and learn from each other by sharing experiences, knowledge, and skills;

The methodology for Work Package 1 of the RECOLLECT 2 study is described below:

The national and international studies were online survey-based studies which aimed to include as many Recovery Colleges as possible. The national survey identified 88 Recovery Colleges in England and 63 (72% response rate) participated with 54 providing full data and 9 providing partial data. The international study identified 221 Recovery Colleges in 28 countries (including England). 174 Recovery Colleges participated (79% response rate). For both national and international studies, surveys were completed by Recovery College managers.

Semi-structured qualitative interviews with a subsample (N=31) of Recovery College managers were carried out to understand the impact of COVID-19 as a contextual influence on Recovery Colleges. Topic guides covered history, organisational context, COVID-related changes, and future plans. Hour-long interviews were conducted by RECOLLECT 2 researchers as well as members of the Lived Experience Advisory Panel who had received interviewer training.

Observation unit:

Organization

Kind of data:

Numeric, Text

Type of data:

Cross-national survey data, Qualitative and mixed methods data

Resource language:

English

Access and Administration

Data sourcing, processing and preparation:

All quantitative and qualitative data were collected as part of the RECOLLECT 2 study. Detailed information about each quantitative and qualitative dataset are provided in associated metadata files. All quantitative and qualitative data have been anonymised using study IDs generated by the RECOLLECT team. All direct identifiers have been replaced with a pseudonym or have been redacted. Any combination of indirect identifiers which could lead to identification of a college/participant have been redacted, aggregated, or recategorized.

Rights owners:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Henderson Claire	King's College London
Slade Mike	University of Nottingham

Contact:

Name	Email	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Nottinghamshire Healthcare, NHS Foundation Trust	research@nottshc.nhs.uk	NHS	Unspecified
Ronaldson, Amy	amy.ronaldson@kcl.ac.uk	King's College London	Unspecified
Henderson, Claire	claire.1.henderson@kcl.ac.uk	King's College London	Unspecified
Slade, Mike	m.slade@nottingham.ac.uk	University of Nottingham	Unspecified

Notes on access:

The Data Collection is available for download to users registered with the UK Data Service. All requests are subject to the permission of the data owner or his/her nominee. Please email the contact person for this data collection to request permission to access the data, explaining your reason for wanting access to the data, then contact our Access Helpdesk.

Publisher:

UK Data Service

Last modified:

17 Mar 2025 16:10